


Jurassic Date

by Elfdragon12



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Dating, F/M, Gen, Highly self-indulgent but that's fanfiction as a general baseline, More characters pop up but mostly cameos, This is Gaou we're talking about, post-epilogue, slow burn? what's that?, so spoilers I guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-07-20 05:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16131005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elfdragon12/pseuds/Elfdragon12
Summary: Hiruma may prefer the Takekura Company for his projects, other Saikyoudai students prefer the company for other reasons.





	1. Chapter 1

This week had been a treat.

A portion of the Saikyoudai campus was undergoing some construction and the company they hired for it? It had some of the most attractive employees a number of the students had seen in such a company. It became a little game among some of the bolder students who would sneak looks and debate who was the best looking out of them.

The one in charge with a mature and chiseled face was in the lead.

Saeko Matsumoto, however, was in favor for the largest of the group. He was massive everywhere. All the way from his height to his arms to even his hair. The odd scar on his forehead knocked off points with some of her friends, but she felt it just added to his look. There was a wild feeling to him that she didn't get from most of the people she knew.

It wasn't often that she wanted to have to walk along construction sites. For him? She would gladly suffer through it as much as possible.

"Hey, Saeko!"

She perked up when she heard her name.

A young woman jogged up to her. Saeko smiled when she recognized the short cut black hair curling out from her trendy cap. She wore a pink cardigan over a black tee and capris that showed off her calf muscles.

"Hey, Kaede!" She returned her friend's greeting with a wave. "What's up?"

"I slept through half of our class this morning. Would you happen to have taken notes from it that I could copy?" She clapped her hands together as she pleaded. "My nephew wore me out yesterday, so I just couldn't keep my eyes open."

Saeko laughed. "You're getting old! But, yeah, sure thing. You can treat me to a curry bun from the cafeteria while you copy them."

"At least!" Kaede linked arms with Saeko. "I could barely make sense of the second half of the lecture!"

As the two young women chatted about their shared classes, they made their way arm in arm to the cafeteria. Saeko snacked on a curry bun as Kaede looked over the notes. The further she got along, the more her expression warmed up.

Kaede closed the book. "Oh! Thanks so much! I almost asked Banba, but I've done that before and never again! He keeps putting hieroglyphics in his notes! Who even does that?"

"Wait," Saeko said, holding a hand to her heart, "I'm second to Banba? Kaede! I'm so hurt that I come in second place for you!"

For that, Kaede swatted her arm. "He's so responsible." She defended her choice. "I barely know him, but I would trust him with my life. You? I guess I could trust you with my house plant."

"You cut me deep!" Saeko whined. However, she stopped to look at her watch for the time. "Oh! I need to get going. I'll text you later, okay?"

Kaede blinked. "What are you going to?"

Saeko cleared her throat. "Um, nowhere special, really." She took her glasses off and cleaned them to avoid her friend's hard stare.

It didn't work.

"Hey! You're ditching to go look at the construction guys, aren't you?" Kaede accused.

Flinching, Saeko laughed. "Can you blame me? You've seen them, right?" She continued when her friend nodded. "I just want to take a look before they head home for the day."

"Alright, but I'm going with you."

"Okay, okay, you can come along. Just try not to be too obvious when you're looking."

Kaede hummed. "Don't forget that yourself. I hope the guy with the hat is there."

The two friends packed up their school supplies and made their way to the construction site. Every so often during their trek, they would make eye contact and giggle to themselves.

Kaede was in luck. Saeko wasn't unlucky herself. Both of the men that they preferred in the company were there and working hard. The young women took a seat on the low wall near the site and had the foresight to pull out notebooks to at least make it seem like they weren't just there to enjoy the scenery.

Ten minutes passed with the two like this. Other students passed by, a few the spectators knew and chatted with before their acquaintances continued on to wherever they were going.

A loud 'thunk' distracted both of them.

The enormous and wild looking man put down a large pole.

It was then something equally glorious and disastrous happened.

He let out a breath of air, reached down and pulled up the bottom hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from him face. This action revealed an abdomen that was solid with muscles. They flexed with his breathing, going from lightly defined to being more firm than an iron beam. His sun-tanned skin glistened in the sun with a fine layer of sweat. The muscles in his arms bulged with his movements. Even his pants were low enough to tease the imagination.

"Wow," Kaede whispered. "It's times like this I wish I carried a camera on me. Right, Saeko?" There was no response. "Saeko?"

Saeko's eyes were transfixed on the man's torso. It didn't even look like she was breathing.

"Geeze." Kaede shook her head before looking back to the eye candy they'd been staring at.

Only to find he was staring back at them.

Kaede yelped, flushing bright. "I'll see you later, bye!" She rushed out the words before bolting, attempting to keep her dignity at least somewhat intact.

Saeko remained still.

"Yo."

She finally snapped out of her reverie, her eyes refocused on the object of her distraction leaning on the fence separating them. Oh. The skin on her face burned with embarrassment. A quick look to the side told her that Kaede had ditched her. "Thanks a lot," she mumbled.

"Like what you saw?"

Her attention snapped back to him. The man was even larger up close. Even his grin was large. "Um, if I told you that I'm an architect major with a minor in art, would that explain this?"

"Ho?" The grin didn't disappear. "And are you?"

"Actually, I am." Her face cooled a bit. "Third year."

The man hummed as he studied her. "I believe that, but you still didn't answer my question."

Saeko opened her mouth. "Wanna go to dinner Saturday?"

That wasn't what she intended to say. That wasn't it! Her breath caught in her lungs and she would have sworn her heart stopped. The heavy beats of her pulse thumped in her ears. What had she even meant to say? She couldn't remember!

He blinked at her. That apparently wasn't what he thought was going to be next either. The grin died down from his surprise. "Oh, yeah, sure," he agreed. He still didn't look like it had caught up with him.

The space from the breath leaving her lungs freed filled up with a warm feeling. She smiled. "Okay! Ah, awesome, uh!" Her brain struggled what to do next. She hadn't planned for this. "Do you, um, have any particular food you like?" That was a good plan. Find out what he liked.

"Meat."

"Looks like it." She could feel her face get warm again. The filter between her brain and her mouth needed to get back under control.

A toothy grin returned to his face.

"I'm Saeko Matsumoto," she introduced herself before her lack of control could embarrass her any further.

"Rikiya Gaou," he replied. The grin was still there. His surname sounded like the roar of a dinosaur. It was fitting for someone like him.

"Okay! Um, do you have a number I can call or are you here tomorrow?"

Gaou considered it. "I don't remember what my phone number is, but I will be here tomorrow."

Her hands fidgeted with edge of the notebook she was still holding. "Okay, I'll see you at the same time tomorrow then and I can tell you where we can meet up?"

He grunted. "Yeah."

"Great!" She opened the notebook and grabbed a pen from her pocket, scribbled her name and number down, tore it out to give it to him. "I'll give you mine and see you tomorrow then!"

One large hand waved back. "Later."

Saeko beamed at him, waving as she headed back home.

'Guess who has a date for Saturday?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone is surprised.

"Oi! Gaou! Hurry up and bring that beam over here!"

The giant grunted and did so.

"By the way," Kuroki spoke up, setting down the bag he was carrying, "what was with that chick I saw you talking to? She looked cute."

Cute? Gaou thought back to Saeko Matsumoto. From just the surface, she was a soft looking woman. The curve of her cheek and shoulders bared by the loose cable-knit sweater she wore were all soft. Her pants hugged the slopes of her legs. Her brown hair was tied up in a messy bun and her bangs framed her face around the green frames.

"Wait! Gaou was talking to a cute girl?" Toganou said. "You have to be joking!"

He supposed he was more focused on the look in her eyes than the rest of her body. The dark look she had been giving was interesting enough to catch his attention in the first place. The intense focus in those eyes piqued his curiosity when he noticed. How she stepped up and asked him out was worthy of notice as well. The fact that women had a tendency to shy away from him hadn't escaped his notice. Her friend even bolted, but she did not.

"It's totally true!" Kuroki snapped.

Most of the women he knew where managers or were in other supporting staff roles. She had a different feel than they did, but there was something he could feel was the same. What it was, he wasn't sure yet.

Onihei laughed. "Gaou's only focused on football and strength. There's no way he would be distracted by women."

Yes, he supposed she really was cute.

"She gave me her number," Gaou explained. "And asked me out on a date."

Silence reigned as his revelation sunk in.

"What!" More than one person exclaimed in surprise. Kuroki and Toganou were particularly distressed over the revelation.

Gaou only grinned.

With a sigh, Musashi shook his head. He wasn't blind. There were always some spectators as they worked. It only made sense that someone would be bold enough to approach. That Gaou was the one to be approached was a surprise though. "Enough," he said. His stern voice cut through the chatter. "You can talk when you're done working. Hiruma will be expecting this done soon."

A shudder raced through more than one employee. The demon was still an effective threat.

The threat worked through the end of the day, although Gaou still received jealous looks throughout the final few hours.

After the work day ended, the incident was mostly forgotten. The focus of the hard labor took them away from the momentary distraction of the female visitor. Gaou himself forgot about her until he put his hand into his pocket and felt the slip of paper with her name and number. Saeko Matsumoto. He wondered just what she would have in mind for Saturday.

"Hey!" He looked down to see Kuroki. The smaller man had taken off his bandana and was wiping his face. "So how did you get that chick's number? Did you talk to her before?"

Gaou shook his head. "I just did this--" Tugging up the hem of his shirt, he mimicked his motion from earlier.

Kuroki's face fell. "Okay, but how's a normal person supposed to compete with that?" He received a shrug as a reply. "And when did you even start paying attention to girls? I've never seen you even look at one twice!"

One eyebrow raised. "They're not my priority," he said. "This one had a good look in her eyes."

"Sheesh! I don't want to hear you talk anymore," Kuroki grumbled. "Just hearing about you getting a girl's number is getting me mad."

A short laugh burst out of Gaou's mouth.

Kuroki grumbled again before biding him good night, complaining about feeling tired throughput the while.

Gaou was home before long himself. He rubbed at his jaw as he picked up the cell phone sitting on his table. There was a message from Marco. He wanted to meet up on Saturday. The paper still in his pocket reminded him that he would need to ask to meet at a different time. He picked up the device and, cautious of his large fingers, pulled up his friend's number before calling.

"Yo."

"Hey, Gaou," Marco returned the greeting, "you're all done with work, I'd say. Are you fine to meet up on Saturday?"

He fiddled with the paper in his hand. "Actually, can we meet on Sunday? Something else has come up for Saturday."

"Let me guess, Hiruma has another project?"

Gaou laughed. "No, I have a date."

Marco, in response, laughed. A beat of silence passed. "Wait. You're going on a date. With a woman."

"Yeah."

More silence. "Huh. She must be quite a woman to catch your attention, I'd say."

He grunted. "We just met today. She gave me her number and asked me out."

Marco whistled. "That's pretty impressive. If it turns out well, I wouldn't mind meeting her. The fact that she asked you out is impressive on its own. You're not the easiest person for most people to approach." He chuckled. "Sunday is fine though."

It would be a lie to say that Gaou didn't find everyone's surprise amusing. Their shock was dramatic. It was another plus side to accepting the woman's offer. "Kuroki called her cute," he said, "her eyes were good though."

There was a small laugh from the other end. "I hope she lives up to it. Need any suggestions beforehand?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"We'll have plenty to talk about on Sunday, I'd say. I'll see you then."

"Later."

With that he ended the call. However, he didn't set the phone down. He looked from the device to the piece of paper. It wasn't too late in the evening, so it wasn't likely she was asleep yet. He dialed the number into his phone.

"Hello?"

"Yo."

"Oh!" Her voice perked up. "Gaou, right?"

A grin stretched across his face. "Yeah. This was the easiest way to give you my number."

Saeko laughed. "True. Is this a cellphone or a landline?"

"A cell."

"Okay. So," she continued, drawing out the word, "do you normally get off around this time?"

Despite the fact she wouldn't be able to see it, he shrugged. "Depends. We're almost done, so we've been pushing harder to get it finished."

She made a small noise in understanding. There was a short pause. "Oh! That means you won't be doing any more work at the campus." Disappointment leaked into her tone.

Gaou leaned forward on to his table. The grin was steady on his face. "Going to miss watching?"

"I mean," she stammered over her words, "if you don't mind, maybe just a little bit."

He laughed. "It won't be the last time we do construction there. Hiruma always has something that needs to be worked on," he explained.

"Hiruma? Ah! He's a student at Saikyoudai, right? I don't know what department is his focus, but I hear his name get thrown around every now and then, but I don't know much about him."

"Yeah, that's the one. He's a sneaky one."

"Got it." There was a short pause. "So you said you eat meat. Do you like Korean BBQ? There are some really good ones I know of, if you're interested."

With a grunt, Gaou nodded. "Yeah, I like the sound of that."

He could almost hear her smile through the phone. "Good! Okay. So I can see you tomorrow to let you know what Saturday's plans are, right?"

"Yeah."

She hummed. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Gaou."

"Later."

Gaou placed his phone down after hanging up. He considered the conversation. It felt good talking to her and she was a proactive woman. He liked that. As for what Marco said about living up to the interest, he would think about it when the time came.

With any luck, Saeko Matsumoto would be worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops! Been a little bit! Well, here's the next chapter!

No matter how she tried, Saeko was unable to focus on any of her lectures. Instead, her notes were superficial at best and full of little doodles. More than a few looked like Gaou.

"This is why I would maybe trust you with my house plants," Kaede whispered.

Saeko flushed before jabbing her elbow into her friend's side. It didn't help her focus get any better. Eventually, she gave up and resigned herself to sketching some designs and perpetually looking at her watch to see if she could will time to speed up. However, she was unsuccessful. Time remained at the same pace it always marched.

"Finally!" Saeko couldn't resist shouting out the second she stepped out of the door of her last lecture.

Behind her, Kaede laughed. "A little too eager, aren't you?"

She stuck her tongue out at her friend. "Give me a break," she said, "I have plans on a Saturday night with a guy I'm interested in, what's there not to be excited about?"

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Don't brag. I'll return the favor from yesterday and lend you my notes later. Then you can buy me a curry bun."

The young women made their way to the cafeteria for the second day in a row, this time their positions reversed. Saeko read over her friend's notes as Kaede snacked on a curry bun.

"Oh, Kaede, do you have any weekend plans?"

She shrugged. "Video games and shopping, I think. It's been a long week, so I need to decompress." 

A hum and Saeko nodded.

"I'll make sure to have my Sunday open so you can tell me all about Saturday," she said, narrowing her eyes with a smirk. "By the way, need me to come with you for emotional support?"

Saeko snorted. "What emotional support? You ran away yesterday."

"Can you blame me?"

"Yes. Yes, I can."

"Aw, Saeko!"

"On the flip side, I got a date, so let's see how it goes this time on my own. I might have even better luck," she said as she stood up. For extra measure, she stuck her tongue out. "See you later, Kaede."

Kaede pursed her lips together in a pout. "Boo! Fine then! I'll see you later."

With a wave of her hand, Saeko walked away. The flow of university students was mild that day, so Saeko made her way through the campus with relative ease. She waved to friends and acquaintances as she passed by. When she was nearly at the site, she took a moment to pause and adjust her appearance. Her shorts were properly adjusted, the neckline of her shirt sat perfectly along her shoulders, her hair felt like it was still right, a deep breath, and she felt ready to go.

The first thing she saw when she got to the site was the man in charge of the construction company talking with a young man with wild blond hair, pierced ears, and a shotgun casually hanging from his back. She recognized him as a student. While she had never involved herself with him, he was impossible to miss. Curiosity spiked in her mind. However, it wasn't her business and, if someone could carry a gun like that and not be stopped, it was a good idea to be cautious before sticking her nose in.

"Matsumoto?"

She jerked to attention and looked at the source of the voice.  "Oh! Banba! What are you doing here?"

"I'm about to go to practice."

"Football, right? American football?"

He nodded. Looking at her, one of his eyebrows rose. "What are you doing here?"

Saeko smiled. "I agreed to meet someone over here and was just going to wait for them to show up. Oh!" She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "So I just saw a blond guy with a gun. I've seen him around before. You have any idea who that is?"

Banba went still.

"Banba?"

The large man cleared his throat. "Hm, yes. He's Hiruma and he's on the football team. It's probably better if you don't know too much about him."

"Huh." Saeko hummed to herself. What Gaou mentioned the night before clicked. "Well, some things make more sense now."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more about this Hiruma. "When are you expecting this person you're meeting?"

"Any time now," she said, glancing at her watch.

"Matsumoto!" The man himself walked up to the pair.

She raised her hand and wave with a smile. "Hey!"

"Wait, Matsumoto, the person you were going to meet was Gaou?" The stunned look on Banba's was comical. His eyes were both open wide while his mouth was sealed shut.

The sound of his voice attracted Gaou's attention. "Oh, Banba! Yo."

Saeko glanced from one large man to the other large man. "I take it you guys know each other then," she said, gesturing between the two. It was getting to feel like a small world. Not only being surrounded by large men, but from the associations she was finding.

"Yeah," Gaou answered, looking down at her. "We played against each other in high school. We're both linemen. He's a good rival and friend of mine."

Her mouth formed an 'o' shape. She was going to have to look up more about this game. From what little she knew, both were definitely built for the game.

"We're both architect majors and share classes," she said, gesturing between herself and Banba.

"So," Banba finally spoke, his tone calm and measured, "how do you two know each other?"

The two looked at each other. Gaou had a toothy grin while Saeko's soft smile was sheepish.

"It's a more recent acquaintance," she explained, "while they've been working on this site, actually." The long look he was giving them was heating up her cheeks. "So, Banba, I'll see you in class later?"

As pointed as the question was, it clicked in his head. "Ah." Banba cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'll see you later." After that, he stepped away from them quickly.

There was a moment of silence between the two. It was broken when Saeko laughed.

"So," she said with a small sigh, "Banba was quite shocked when he saw it was you I was meeting. I can't seem to figure if that's more on my end or yours." Smiling, she looked up at Gaou. "You know him better than I do."

He looked at her and blinked before laughing. "Me. I'm not the most romantic type," he admitted. Settling against the wall, he took another minute to study her. Her body didn't seem to be the main focus of his examination, however, but her face. When he was done, the smile was back. "They may have to get used to the change though."

Saeko could feel her face heat up from the implication. She knit her fingers together, fidgeting with her thumbs. This was enough of a shared opinion that multiple people would be surprised by it. What a way to make a girl feel special.

"W-well," she said, stumbling to speak again, "how does meeting at Ikebukuro station at 7 sound? The restaurant I'm thinking about is over there and there are some neat places in the area to go to afterwards."

Gaou considered it for a moment, scratching at his chin before grunting. "Yeah, that should be fine. I don't think I've spent much time there before." He looked back at her. "I have to get back to work now, but I'll see you then."

"Okay!" She beamed at him. "Good luck with the rest of your work!"

"Later."

As he walked away, Saeko let herself stand there and breath. She also enjoyed the view until he turned a corner and was no longer in her eyesight. Although his hair was somewhat in the way, it was still a good view. In her veins was a warm thrill of a buzz. This was the most excited she felt for a weekend in a long time. Gaou's intense stare was something else! That he focused his stare on her face was alternately refreshing and embarrassing. It was good not to feel like a piece of meat--even if she herself was perhaps guilty, but any longer and she wouldn't have been able to look him in the face. One last breath and Saeko made her way from the campus. Nothing in the world could stop her now.


End file.
